I thought I would start this year off with posting a healthy boosted twist on one of the first classic recipes that ever made it’s way into my repertoire. Chicken soup is one of the first recipes I committed to memory, and it’s something I love to make and keep steadily stocked in my fridge and freezer all winter long. So is bone broth, and this recipe, that is kind of a two for one, is one of my favorite food projects for a lazy, chilly Sunday.

I hardly post any non-veggies recipes on this blog which I realize is kind of weird because I am not a vegetarian ...... and it often confuses people. People very often assume that because I post so many vegetarian recipes that I am a vegetarian. And, when I tell people that I am not a vegetarian, but vegetarian food is the food I love the most ... I think that confuses people even more. There is no label for my mostly veg, avoid dairy and gluten, and a little bit of meat and fish, diet ... and when you don't have a clear label to put on it, people might not always get it. I find people can be most perplexed by why I choose to focus so much on vegetables when I still eat meat. I find much more creativity in with working with veggies recipes vs. meat recipes. I only have about 7-ish meat focused recipes that I make over and over again.... (one being this chicken soup) and, if I were home cooking for myself, and not my husband or anyone else, I would almost always make myself something veg. I just really really love my vegetables.

SO, since the new year is here and it feels like a good time for fresh starts, I decided that I would be sharing more of my classic meat recipes ... because, this is how I eat, and the handful of meat recipes that I do make I love and I have been making them for a long time.

I am very very picky about my meats. I am very picky about all the food that makes it’s way into my kitchen, but meat especially. I am lucky to have a butcher nearby that I am friendly with, where I can 100% trust the sourcing of their meat, and that it is not only grass-fed, organic (and all those buzzy things) but also that it’s sustainable. That they are sourcing from a local farm and that they are using all the usable animal parts. I, too, like to continue to make sure that I am being a responsible meat consumer while at home, and the best way I can do that is by making bone broth from leftover bones. In this chicken soup that means you actually get double bang for the bones. First with the actual broth from the soup, and second from the leftover bones, which then get simmered for 12-24 hours to make that magical bone broth.

I am sure you are already well acquainted with bone broth. I’ve got to be honest, I totally rolled my eyes at this trend when it first started. Of course broth is nourishing, we’ve been sipping on it for hundreds of years, our grandmas and moms always made us broth or chicken soup when we had a cold. It’s no secret that it’s nature’s medicine, someone just decided to repackage it and give it a new-ish name. It wasn’t until a broth shop (a storefront that sells JUST broth in a coffee cups) opened in my neighborhood that I started to give it a try, and then started to drink it on a regular basis, that I started seeing what the real fuss was about. Bone broth is seriously powerful healing stuff when sipped on consistently, and even more so in the winter when we need that extra nourishing boost. I began to see a noticeable difference in my nails and hair, they were stronger, healthier looking. I felt a more calming feeling in my gut, and you know if our guts are clam and happy, we are clam and happy. So, I am a total broth convert, and advocate. It was last year that I started on my bone broth kick, and I decided that I needed to start making it myself because it’s wayyyyyy less expensive, and you can make it in big batches and freeze it, so it lasts a long time.

So, this here is my method for making my favorite chicken soup, followed by chicken bone broth. This is a more labor-intensive process than most of my recipes, but if you are as into making things ahead of time that make you feel good as I am, then it’s well worth this labor of love. To do this, you will need two heavy-bottomed large soup pots, and I will guide you how to do the most efficient, and least dishing washing way possible.

This is a two-part recipe, but if you don’t have the time or you aren’t in the mood to make the bone broth, then you can always skip it or freeze the leftover bones and make it when you have the time. This recipe is very forgiving in terms of ingredients. Feel free to add (or subtract) whatever veggies you have on hand or what you are in the mood for. That goes for the bone broth too. I usually keep mine very basic, and leave out the add-ins, but if you want a more flavorful broth to sip on, feel free to add as much as you like. Lastly, you are going to need two large, heavy-bottomed soup pots if you’re going to make both the soup and bone broth, and I will refer to them as pot #1 and pot #2.

Place the whole chicken into a large, heavy-bottomed pot (#1) and add enough water so the chicken is covered (leaving about 1-2” from the top so it doesn’t overflow. Add the salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds, and bay leaves, and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cover, lower the heat to a low simmer, and cook for an hour.

Turn the heat off, and carefully remove the chicken from the broth and place it onto a large cutting board. You can leave the broth in the pot for now. Allow the chicken to cool completely before removing the meat from the bones. I also like to give it a rough chop with a knife to help speed the cooling, and so that it doesn’t keep cooking. When you are ready to pull the meat off the bones (I usually do this a littler later when my soup is simmering), you will peel off and discard the skin, remove the meat, and place it onto a large plate until you’re ready to add it to the soup. Reserve all of the bones, if you’re making the bone broth. You can freeze the bones in an airtight container or plastic bag if you want to make the bone broth another time.

Make the soup:

In pot #2, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook for 7-10 minutes until all of the veggies are very tender. Add the mushrooms, and cook while stirring (to prevent the mushrooms from sticking) for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and turmeric, and cook, while stirring for 2 more minutes.

Place a strainer over the pot, and pour the broth from pot#1 into the pot with the veggies (pot#2). Turn the heat down to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes. When you've removed the chicken from the bones, you can add it to the soup.

If you're adding spinach or kale, I like to do this at the very end or right before serving. If you plan to make this ahead and store it, I would wait to add the greens until you heat it up.

If you want to add rice or quinoa, I add about 1/2 a cup and cook for about 30 minutes, until the grains are cooked through.

You can store any leftovers in the fridge, in glass airtight jars, for about 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Make the bone broth:

Clean out pot#1, and then add the leftover bones, water, salt, and vinegar (and any other add-in you like). Place the pot over a very low flame, cover, and simmer for 12-24 hours.

When you are done simmering, ladle the broth into the vessel you plan to store it in. I like to store a portion of the broth (whatever I will drink over the next day or two) in a large mason jar in the fridge, and the rest I ladle into silicone ice cube trays, freeze them, and then transfter the broth cubes to a plastic bag for longer-term storage.

I am not a big cookie person. I can't say that I am that into cookie swaps, and I would much rather eat a giant piece of pie over snacking on a plate full of cookies. All that said, there are a few cookies that I makes exceptions for .... cookies that I love and can't get enough of. Like shortbread. Shortbread cookies are are hands down my #1 favorite kind of cookie. There is something about that buttery sweetness that I just cant resist.

The past few month, I have been trying to cut back on my grain intake. I am usually a big fan of grains in their whole form, and even more so the gluten-free grains, however, after a recommendation from my acupuncturist to make a significant cut back on grains overall to help me reduce some problem causing inflammation I've been having, it has caused me to rethink a lot of the staples in my pantry and my recipes. And when it comes to baking, cutting out grains cuts out a lot of the wholesome flours that I have grown accustom to using. It pretty much leaves you with almond flour, coconut flour, and garbanzo bean flour. On the one hand it can feel extremely limiting, but on the other, there is still lots you can do with these flours. Even though this is a short-term cutback on grains for me, I am determined to make the most of it, and maybe even discover and develop some new and exciting recipes because of it.

Well, I am excited to report that these grain-free shortbread cookies are my first victory in the grain-free baking department. While these are not dairy-free (I needed to sneak a little indulgence in there, it is the holidays after all) they can be easily made so by subbing a sustainable palm shortening or a vegan butter. And, let's talk about the miso, because miso is, in my opinion, the best thing to happen to desserts. You know that miso and butter, when combined, create a bomb of flavors that makes anything, sweet or savory, that much more delicious. So, it's only natural that adding miso to a buttery cookie would take the cookie to a whole other level. If you haven't tried adding miso into a sweet dessert, these cookies are a great place to start .... everyone will be asking you why these tasting so addictingly good, and you can either let them in on your miso secret or keep it all to yourself.

Place the butter and maple syrup into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and mix on high for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy. Then, add the miso and mix on high for another minute.

Stop the mixer, add the almond meal and tapioca starch and mix on low just until incorporated (do not overmix!). The mixture should be a doughy consistency, but it will be on the wet and sticky side.

Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Spoon the batter onto the center of the parchment, and place another piece of parchment over the top. Using the palms of your hands, press the mixture to form a rectangle (by pressing into the top piece of parchment). You want the dough to be about 1/4" thick all around. You can use a rolling pin or the back of a measuring cup to smooth/even out the top. Don't worry if it is not a perfect rectangle, you can trim the edges later on.

Place the dough into the fridge, and allow to rest for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight.

Remove from the fridge and peel off the top layer of parchment. Sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly over the dough, and then cut the dough into squares. You might want to trim the edges along the outside so that you have nice, perfect squares. You can discard an extras or just cut them into little bite sized pieces and bake them with the squares. Alternatively, you can cut these into any shape you like using cookie cutters.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, turning the tray 180º halfway through baking. They are done when the outside edges are a light golden brown. When you remove them from the oven, they will still be quite soft. They need to cool down in order to harden, so leave them on the baking sheet to cool for at least 30 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Once cooled, you can serve, or store them in an air-tight container for later. They can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or in the freezer for a month+.

I've talked here before about how our family has a tradition of eating out for Thanksgiving. It's one that I VERY much enjoy .... and one that I really look forward to. Since I am not doing any cooking or dish washing, it feels like a day off. I will wake up on Thursday morning, go for a long run, decide what to wear, and my responsibilities are done for the day.

Last year I thought that I missed cooking for Thanksgiving, so we went back to it .... and at the end of the meal when we were cleaning up, the whole family unanimously decided (with me leading the charge) that we would go back to our tradition of eating out for Thanksgiving. And now two days out, when I don't have to be strategically planning my shopping so I am not waiting in absurd lines at various grocery stores with overflowing shopping carts all around, I am so happy we decided to do so. Eating out for Thanksgiving isn't so unusual for NYers, and last year when I was juggling cooking a giant turkey and all the sides in my tiny city oven, I remembered exactly why.

If I were cooking for Thanksgiving this year, I would be keeping things simple. I might serve a soup as an appetizer, and then for the main a turkey (of course) with two sides, and a pie for dessert. The soup would be something very simple, and something I could make in advance. Something like this cauliflower soup with flavors of roasted garlic, shallot, and tahini lingering in the background with lots of crunchy bits to top it off.

I like to call this a sheet pan soup, and sheet pan soups are totally my thing. What I mean by sheet pan soups are that all the veggies are tossed in a spice mixture and roasted on a sheet pan in the oven until tender and caramelized ... then thrown into the blender with some other ingredients to blend it and balance it out. It's the lazy lady soup, but also can be made to impress by reserving some of the veggies for toppings and adding in some other fancy bits like nuts and seeds to make it pretty and give it texture. This is a soup that I would make if I wanted a quick home-cooked meal, but only had about three-ish things with soup potential in my fridge. But this is also a soup that I would make for a dinner party or a festive occasion (hello, thanksgiving) as an appetizer because you don't need to spent lots of time on it, but it still makes a really nice first impression.

cauliflower + roasted garlic + tahini soup

SERVES2 as a main, 4 as an app

INGREDIENTS

1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into florets3 large shallots, peeled and cut in half1 head of garlic, broken into cloves with the peels left ona couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil1/2 teaspoon of cumin1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of sea saltfreshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons of tahinithe juice of 1 lemon2-3 cups of water, or broth

for the toppings:a handful of pumpkin seedsabout 2 tablespoons of sesame seedsa couple of florets, reserved before blending

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF.

Place the cauliflower florets, shallots, and garlic onto a sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle the cumin, coriander, salt and pepper over top and then toss to evenly coat the vegetables.

Roast for 30-35 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender and light brown around the edges.

Transfer the cauliflower and shallots to a blender (reserving a couple of florets for topping, if you like). Remove the garlic peels and transfer the roasted garlic to the blender as well. Add the tahini, lemon, and 2 cups of the water or broth and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust any seasoning that is necessary (if you used water you might want to add more salt and pepper, but if you used a broth you might not need to). Slowly add the third cup of water or broth while the blender is running, until you have the consistency you like.

Pour into individual serving bowls, and scatter the toppings over top. Serve warm. This will keep for a couple of days in an air-tight container in the fridge and easily reheated on the stovetop.

In case you've been wondering where I have been for the past few months ..... I've been cooking LOTS, in this space in these photos here. Our new studio with my friend and now partner, Hetty, has been bustling with activity ever since we finished our kitchen renovation back in August and opened our doors. We've hosted dinners, lunches, photography workshops, cooking classes ... we've even had people come and teach their own trades in our space, like macrame and bagel-making.

Last saturday we hosted a workshop that was the first of it's kind for us, and it was all about publishing food stories. We spent the day discussing different perspectives on publishing from conception to blogs to books and magazines, from a variety of experts and cookbook authors. The conversation was informative, candid, but most importantly, inspiring and fun. It was our hope that everyone who was at the studio that day left feeling their creative energy completely recharged. I know that we certainly did.

No matter what the event at the studio, there will always be some sort of food component. Last Saturday our lunch menu for the publishing workshop consisted of cauliflower with romesco, roasted brussels sprouts with a ginger scallion sauce, mushroom toasts, and this honey baked eggplant dish (which everyone kept calling eggplant lasagna, which is probably because it was reminiscent of lasagna/eggplant parmesan with layers of thinly sliced eggplant, red sauce, and cheese). We also made a vegan / dairy-free version by using a dairy-free cashew yogurt in lieu of the cheese (in the same amounts, with some garlic and seasoning mixed in) and that version was a big hit as well. So many people asked for the recipes so we decided it would be a great first recipe for our brand new studio blog, where we hope to share many of the recipes we create in the studio for events or just for ourselves. So head over to THE BLOG for this delicious recipe, and be sure to subscribe to our neighborhood studio newsletter so you will never miss a recipe.

Oh, AND, I will be posting new recipes here again too, now that we are in our groove over at the studio, and I am so excited because I have SO many fun, new recipes waiting for you.

As someone who anticipates summer more than any other season, it's hard towards the end of the season to not sit back and think about how good the summer has been compared to other summers. How many warm perfect days vs. rainy days ... how many beach bbqs did we do or just overall days spent on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Did I get in my fair share of epic outdoor dinner parties. This summer had mostly ups and just a few downs. We had a lot of rainy saturdays, and for some reason these last few weeks of august have felt more like the last few of september, needing a sweater in the early morning and late evening. But weather aside, I have to say, everything else about this summer has been pretty great. I relished in my vacation time, just as much as I did getting back to work and getting our new brooklyn studio ready. We opened officially last weekend, and that definitely was a big highlight of my summer.

Once I have had a chance to anaylze my summer, I pretty much always come to the same conclusion. Summer is the best, and even the least best summer is still pretty darn amazing.

This summer I did a lot of cooking. Even more than I usually do, and I consider that a big summertime win. With all of the amazing fruits and veggies at my finger tips, I have a hard time passing up any opportunity to cook with the summertime gems .... whether it's just for myself, or for a big group of people. I made a point to always make myself breakfast and lunch at home, and I tried to keep eating out for more special or social occasions, or for when I was craving the crab pasta or wood grilled whole fish at one of my two favorite restaurants in town. Usually when I am doing a lot of cooking, I like to get creative to keep from getting bored, but this summer I was drawn to the most simple preparations .... a quick satuee or roast of vegetables served with a simply grilled fish or chicken was pretty much on repeat. As was this dessert here. I made a version of this crisp every single time we had guests this summer. In the early summer is was with strawberries and rhubarb, mid-summer it was with cherries and blackberries, and right about now I am making it with the perfectly ripe peaches and blueberries (my favorite fruit crisp duo).

I have been working for a long time towards a crisp that is free of gluten and dairy, but hardly noticeable to traditional crisp lovers. This version which uses olive oil instead of butter, and a mixture of polenta and a gluten-free flour blend for a bit of crunch and texture, is by far the winner. I was so surprised at how well olive oil works to make a crispy crunch dessert topping. I have also been loving serving it in this limited edition teal colored dutch oven by Le Creuset. The color makes the dessert pop, and the dutch oven is the perfect vessel to cook and serve the dessert in because the top comes in handy for when you want to bake this ahead of time, and keep it waiting on the countertop, covered, until you're ready to serve. I would strongly suggest making this at your next dinner party, before the blueberries and peaches and summertime leave us until next year.

**This post is sponsored by Le Creuset + Williams Sonoma. All opinions are my own. I am giving away one of these dutch ovens over on my Instagram, so head there for a chance to win! Thanks for supporting the brands that support WCGL!

peach + blueberry + polenta crisp

This recipe is inspired by the strawberry + rhubarb + polenta crisp in Gjelina, by Travis Lett, but is adapted to be made gluten + dairy free.

for the filling:2 pints of blueberries5-6 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced1/3 cup of sugar (coconut palm or white sugar)2 tablespoons of gluten-free flourthe juice of 1/2 a limea pinch of sea salt

Vanilla ice cream for serving

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF.

Make the topping:

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg and olive oil and whisk until combined. This topping will be a little wetter than more traditional crumble toppings, and that is ok. This can be made in advance and stored in an air-tight container the fridge, if using the same week, or you can place it into a container and store in the freezer for a few months.

Make the filling, add the topping + bake:

In a large dutch oven (3.75QT) or baking dish (10"x14"), combine the blueberries, peaches, sugar, flour, lime, and salt. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top.

Bake until the crisp topping is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes before serving.

studio workshop + event updates!

good-looking grams !

happy that I picked up extra salmon for dinner the other night so that I can eat this chilled salmon salad today which is basically the salmon tossed with lemon + tahini + a sprinkle of herbs and crunchy bits (dill, parsley, sesame seeds, radish, etc)

stayed up way too late watching figure skating last night .... I may have even cried a little when when @mirainagasu nailed that triple axel 💫 so getting through an early morning commute back to nyc by going through photos of these arrangements I made last week for a v-day themed shoot, and had to share because it’s one of my favorites

chickpeas on a baking sheet + sumac + salt + lot of cracked black pepper + a generous drizzle of olive oil + a 425F oven ......and about 30 minutes later, out come the crunchiest, tastiest topping for everything from eggs to roasted veggies, that is if you don’t eat them all off the tray before they make it to the plate

I was trying to think of something warming + tasty to make to help me forget about this mid-February chill.... and remembered this white bean + split pea chili from last winter, so this is what I will be having for dinner tonight (recipe in stories or blog archives) also, my 💛 recently surprised me with a slow cooker (!) I’ve never considered myself a slower cooker person, but there’s been nights when I’ve come home from a busy day and I wish there was something homemade and delicious all heated up and waiting for me... now I just have to get into the swing of using it (first timer tips, welcome!)

I’ve had this sweet potato sandwich on my mind forever, so I finally decided to make it happen today by roasting some hawaij marinated, thinly sliced sweet potato, and putting it on a homemade (gluten/grain-free) bun (recipe in the works) and then topping it with avocado, pickles + slaw 🍠🥪👍🏻

my other favorite kind of mess to make in the kitchen 🥀

the title of my cookbook, More with Less, came about when I was writing the proposal for the book.... I knew I wanted the book to be all about simplifying creative, healthy home cooking... and I wanted the book to show that you don’t need a long list of ingredients or hours in the kitchen to make beautiful, delicious food. I also wanted it to highlight seasonal eating, and show how you can make the most of all the foods that we get each season. More with Less seemed like the perfect way to bundle all these things up..... and I’m so happy that title ended up being the one.
While there is a lot I love in the book, one of my favorite parts is the condiments chapter... there’s over 30 recipes for condiments in there that are easy to make, and do what they do by making the most of simple meals and turn them into something a little extra special ... the book’s release date is April 24th, less than three months away! but you can purchase it online now (link in my profile) .... until then, I’ll just be over here patiently (not so patiently) counting down the days 🙋🏻‍♀️

this wkend ....with my favorite person in our favorite place✨

current obsession: these sweet potato wedges tossed in @nyshuk harissa spice, roasted with some red onion until crisp on the outer edges ... topped with baked harissa beans, toasted almonds + the usual drizzle of tahini